How Birthplace Affects Financial Mobility

The New York Times has created a data visualization that illustrates the varying economic mobility for children raised in different counties and cities across the United States. A pair of Harvard University economists found that where someone lives as a child determines his or her future economic mobility. Using this research, the visualization shows that a child raised in Fairfax County, Virginia, will make $3,150 more at age 26. By contrast, growing up in Baltimore reduces a child’s expected income by $4,510. The visualization can also display economic mobility by gender of the child, as well as income percentile.